


Unloved

by menel



Series: When the Day is Short [2]
Category: Justified
Genre: Episode Tag, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-03-10
Packaged: 2018-01-15 07:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1295821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/menel/pseuds/menel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So much for his vacation. After Raylan's plans for a trip to Florida go awry, he pays Tim a visit to commiserate. </p><p>Blanket spoilers for Season 5.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unloved

**Author's Note:**

> Another coda to 5x08 Whistle Past the Graveyard because the Tim withdrawal is not abating.

The chime of the doorbell is unexpected but it isn’t exactly late so Tim answers the front door with only mild curiosity. Of course, the person standing on the other side is _wholly_ unexpected, for more reasons than one. 

It’s Raylan, looking a little tired and a little annoyed and very, very hot. Hot enough for Tim to throw against the wall and have his way with him, but Tim refrains because he has self-control. Admittedly, Raylan appears to be the one person who wears down his self-control far too quickly, but Tim is also acutely aware of the need to maintain appearances and throwing his colleague against the wall in the hallway of his apartment building is not a step in that direction. 

Tim likes ‘casual’ Raylan best, the one who wears jeans and t-shirts and denim jackets. Tonight Raylan is wearing a black t-shirt to go with those tight-fitting jeans and the amount of sexual magnetism that he’s emitting would probably break the Richter scale. Tim cocks his head to the right and throws Raylan a questioning look. 

“Thought you’d be in Florida by now.” 

“You’re not the only one,” Raylan sighs, pushing himself off the wall. The six-pack that he’s carrying comes into view. “You gonna invite me in or what?” 

Tim waits a moment, even though he has no intention of refusing, before holding the door open for Raylan. He realizes that this is the first time Raylan’s ever been to his apartment. Some part of him acknowledges that Raylan must’ve known where he lived even though he’s never actually given Raylan his address. Raylan could find that information easily enough. It’s not like it’s a secret. 

Still, it should probably feel strange for Raylan to be there, especially since Raylan is immediately making himself at home. _Presumptuous bastard._ Tim’s apartment isn’t large and it’s not like you need a directory to find the living room. Raylan sits down in the center of the sofa and opens one of the beers. Tim half expects him to put his feet up on the coffee table, but Raylan doesn’t. Instead, he takes a long drink of the beer, eventually leaning back on the sofa, resting his head and shutting his eyes. 

Tim takes in the sight of Raylan on his sofa, looking for the entire world like he belongs there, dozing after a long day at work. Tim can also see the fatigue in Raylan’s form. He looks like he’s had a long day and the mere fact that he’s in Tim’s living room instead of Florida means he’s probably also had a very interesting day. ‘Interesting’ has variable definitions when it comes to Raylan. 

As if sensing Tim’s scrutiny, Raylan opens his eyes. The look he gives Tim is silently asking what Tim is doing all the way across the room. Tim takes the hint and enters the living room from the hallway. He walks over to where Raylan is sitting but opts for the end chair adjacent to the sofa. 

If Raylan is surprised by Tim’s decision, he doesn’t let on. “Beer?” he offers. 

“Sure,” Tim replies. 

Raylan opens another can of beer and passes it to Tim. The can is almost ice-cold. Raylan must’ve passed by for the beers on his way to Tim’s apartment. They drink in silence until Raylan finally asks, “So, how was your day?” 

“Probably not as eventful as yours.” 

“What makes you say that?” 

“Oh, I don’t know.” Tim shrugs. “’Cos you should be holding your baby girl right about now?” 

Raylan sighs and takes another drink of his beer. “Are we doing the caring and sharing thing tonight?” 

“Hey, you’re the one who turned up at my doorstep,” Tim reminds him. “Unless this is just a good old fashioned booty call.” 

“Could you live with that?” 

“I’m only with you for your body too.” 

The comment gets a laugh out of Raylan. “Then what are you doing over there?” he asks. 

Tim indulges the other man by getting up and closing the small distance between them. He stands in front of Raylan, eyeing him carefully before easing himself into Raylan’s lap. 

“This more what you had in mind?” 

“It’s an improvement,” Raylan admits, one arm slipping around Tim’s waist to steady him. 

Tim allows Raylan to take his full weight as he makes himself comfortable. He’s leaning over Raylan predatorily, one hand flat on Raylan’s chest. “I’d still be interested in knowing what happened to you today,” he says offhandedly. 

“Are you bribing me with sex?” 

“I’m bribing you with the _promise_ of sex.” 

Before Raylan can say anything else, Tim has dived in, giving Raylan one of those full, sensual, open-mouthed kisses that he’s so very good at. 

“It’s an effective bribe,” Raylan comments when Tim finally ends the kiss. 

“You’re just easy,” Tim snarks back, even as he’s in the process of unbuckling Raylan’s belt. The hand that was steadying him has now slipped under his white undershirt, a warm solid presence on the small of his back. “So what happened today?” Tim asks again, pulling the belt off completely and letting it fall to the floor. 

“Same thing that happened last night,” Raylan replies, the hand on Tim’s back pushing him closer for another kiss. “Wendy Crowe called.” 

Tim catches Raylan’s eye as he says, “Persistent.” 

Raylan nods. “She is,” he agrees, but his gaze is focused on Tim’s lips and Tim acquiesces to another kiss. 

“I take it you managed to resist the lure of her feminine wiles?” Tim inquires politely, as Raylan trails a line of kisses up his jaw. Clothes are going to have to be shed soon, he reckons. 

“Seduction wasn’t her game today,” Raylan informs him after stealing another kiss. 

“No?” 

“No. She was calling about Kendal, who – big surprise – isn’t her youngest brother but her son.” 

Tim scoffs. “Given the age difference between Kendal and the rest of the Crowe clan,” he says. “It really _ain’t_ a surprise. What sort of trouble did Kendal get up to?” 

“Oh, the usual. Kidnapped by his Uncle Jack, who isn’t really his uncle but his estranged father. Turns out Kendal wasn’t kidnapped at all since _he_ was the one who called his Uncle Jack.” 

“Kid must be pretty desperate to get away from the Crowe side of his family,” Tim observes. 

“Can you blame him?” 

Tim shrugs. “S’ppose not. It all ended well though?” 

“When is anything that easy?” 

Tim grins as he unzips Raylan’s fly. The top button of Raylan’s jeans is already undone. A moment later, his hand is wrapping around Raylan’s still soft cock. “And then?” he coaxes, as a soft sigh of contentment escapes the other man. 

“Hmm?” 

“Then what happened?” Tim persists, giving the cock in his hand a particularly tight squeeze. 

“Ah,” Raylan says, but it comes out more as a gasp. 

Tim can’t tell if it’s a response to the query or to his actions. He figures it’s probably a little bit of both. He makes a mental note to have lube or oil more readily accessible if Raylan is going to be spending more time at his place. There’s a lot of furniture and other flat surfaces that they could break in. His thoughts are drawn away from future sexual exploits as Raylan resumes his story. Luckily, multi-tasking has always been one of Tim’s strengths and he continues his actions on Raylan’s hardening cock as he listens to the rest of his partner’s day unfold. 

It isn’t much of a stretch to learn that Uncle Jack is a cowardly douchebag also involved in criminal activity, this time in the form of gambling. While Jack was spending ‘quality’ time with his estranged family (and here Tim can’t help but draw comparisons to Raylan and his own semi-estranged family, the same family Raylan would be with that evening if Wendy Crowe hadn’t disrupted his plans), he was also being hunted by the father of his former partner who’d discovered that Jack had been skimming money off the top of their business arrangement and then had promptly put his ex-partner in the hospital. 

What did all this have to do with Kendal? Well, the hard ass father on Jack’s trail eventually caught up to him before Raylan and Wendy could and in typical shit-hits-the-ceiling fashion, Kendal was _genuinely_ abducted. Tim has to hold back a laugh at this point but his amusement is plainly evident when Raylan recounts getting stuck with the bickering ex-couple. 

“A couple of children those two were,” Raylan says, completely exasperated. 

“But it all ended well?” Tim repeats, smearing the precum down Raylan’s cock as a form of lube. Raylan shifts under his touch. 

“As well as it could, considering,” Raylan sighs, pushing into Tim’s hand. “I arrested Jack, the irate father, and returned Kendal to his mom. As a bonus, no one got shot.” 

“That _is_ a bonus,” Tim agrees. “Guess you really are on vacation.” 

“Cute.” 

Tim grins. “So why’d you do it?” he prods. “Sure, you’ve got that White Knight complex, but Wendy Crowe ain’t exactly your favorite person. Hell, she’s not even blonde.” 

Raylan laughs. “It was supposed to be an exchange,” he admitted. “Kendal for information on her brothers and their goings-on in Mexico.” 

“Mexico? Sounds promisingly illegal.” 

“That’s what I thought.” 

“But that’s not what happened.” 

“No.” Raylan sighs again. “Turns out she was stringing me along. She doesn’t know diddly squat about Mexico.” 

“You believe her?” 

Raylan looks thoughtful. “I do,” he says after a long pause. “She was desperate today. Apparently, she has some kind of motherly instinct.” 

Raylan falls silent and Tim stops his actions. They’ve hit a lull in their conversation but Tim can also tell that something else is bothering Raylan. It isn’t often that someone pulls the wool over the cowboy’s eyes, but Raylan always handles those situations with his ever-present cool, secure in the knowledge that one day he will pay that person back in kind. Raylan isn’t one to forget. There’s something else, however, underpinning their talk. Probably something Raylan wouldn’t normally address. Tim wonders if he should be so nosy, but . . . 

“Is that all that happened?” 

“What else would there be?” 

Tim can practically see Raylan’s defenses rise. “Dunno,” he says casually. “You seem kinda down.” 

“Chasing after a kidnapped kid, his dickwad dad and the muscle after him all for nothin’ ain’t allowed to get me down?” 

“Maybe you should’ve shot someone to feel better.” 

“I was tempted.” 

Raylan falls silent again, letting his head rest on the back of the sofa and Tim knows that the other man is close to saying something . . . important. He can practically _feel_ it. 

“Had a short talk with Kendal,” Raylan finally admits, opening his eyes again but staring up at the ceiling. “Told him to keep his head down and in a coupla years he’d be legal. Wouldn’t have to resort to running away. He can just leave his family behind. Get outta that shitstorm. Go live his life.” 

It’s Tim’s turn to remain silent. He wasn’t expecting that response. It’s too uncomfortably close to home . . . for both of them. He slides off Raylan’s lap so that he’s sitting beside the other man, his left leg tucked underneath him and his right leg still draped across Raylan. He props his left arm against the back of the sofa and gives Raylan a thoughtful look. He’s thinking of an appropriate response but before he can say anything, Raylan adds, “I gave him two thousand dollars too.” 

Whatever Tim was going to say flies out the window and his immediate reaction is, “Where the hell did you get two thousand dollars?” 

“Caller number 7.” 

“What?” 

Raylan shakes his head. “Never mind. Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” he quickly adds at Tim’s look of protest. “It’s legal . . . mostly. I was gonna use the money for the Florida trip but . . .” 

_Kendal was more important_ , Tim mentally finishes. 

Tim doesn’t think there’s anything he can say to this revelation. Nothing seems appropriate. Raylan has a strong protective instinct and though most people wouldn’t suspect, the cowboy can be deeply empathetic in certain situations. Kendal is one of those situations, the kind that cuts right to the heart of all of Raylan’s issues. If you put Raylan in a labyrinth, at its center would be Arlo Givens. All roads lead back to that son of a bitch. Arlo is Raylan’s past, Raylan’s present and even Raylan’s future. How can a dead man hold so much sway from the grave? How can Raylan ever truly be free of him? 

“You’d be a great dad if you gave it half a chance,” Tim says before his brain can catch up to his mouth. “If you stopped running away.” 

Raylan looks at him sharply, his gaze piercing and Tim knows he’s overstepped his bounds, but that doesn’t stop him from continuing. 

“I get why you gave Kendal that money,” he goes on. “Hell, I wish I had two thousand dollars when I left home. People _can_ get out, but they need help. Like what your Aunt Helen did for you.” 

Raylan is still watching him intensely, but Tim doesn’t wilt under the pressure. Instead he puts a hand on Raylan’s chest. 

“You’re not Arlo,” he says seriously. “No matter how badly he fucked you up. You got out. And I’ve seen you around Loretta. Sure, she played you too, but it’s more than that. She looks up to you, listens to you in a way that she probably doesn’t to her foster family.” Tim shrugs. “Maybe you don’t want that kind of responsibility,” he continues. “But it’s there. Hell, one day you’re going to have your own teenage daughter. And between you and Winona, I reckon she’ll do all right.” 

“When did you turn into Dr. Phil?” 

“Are you still going to Florida?” 

“Are you kicking me out?” 

Tim shakes his head. “Not tonight.” 

Raylan looks more at ease and Tim likes to think that it might have something to do with what he’s just said. 

“I give Kendal 50-50,” Raylan says into the short silence that follows. 

“Those are probably better odds than he had before,” Tim points out. 

They both haven’t mentioned that the Crowe family is on Raylan’s hit list, and that if the cowboy can put Kendal’s scumbag brothers away, then Kendal’s chances would increase exponentially. Who knows? Maybe he and his mom could do things over and get it right this time. 

The hand on Raylan’s chest moves lower. “You wanna finish this in the bedroom?” 

Raylan grins lazily, the cool mask of the cowboy slipping back into place as he catches Tim’s hand and brings it to his lips for a kiss. 

“It’s the reason I dropped by.” 

 

**Fin.**

**Author's Note:**

>  _Justified_ belongs to FX, Graham Yost and Elmore Leonard. No offense is intended, no profit is being made.


End file.
